


Changes In The Air

by kronette



Category: Toy Story 2 (1999)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-03
Updated: 2013-01-03
Packaged: 2017-11-23 10:53:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/621309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kronette/pseuds/kronette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is set several years after "Toy Story 2." I didn't know if we'd ever get TS3, and it was as heartbreaking as I thought it would be. </p><p>The rescue of Wheezy had been a noble deed by Sheriff Woody, the elected leader of Andy's Toys.  Unfortunately, as the years sped on, more and more rescues of toys were necessary.  It was finally too obvious to ignore:  Andy was growing up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changes In The Air

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in 1999 under my other pseud, Shelley Wright.

The rescue of Wheezy had been a noble deed by Sheriff Woody, the elected leader of Andy's Toys. Unfortunately, as the years sped on, more and more rescues of toys were necessary. It was finally too obvious to ignore: Andy was growing up.

Woody and Buzz Lightyear: Space Ranger, had managed to survive the yard sale boxes for years. The youngest toys had gone first -- Potato Head, Rex, and Bo Peep to name a few - to be replaced by the concerns of a young man. Slink had met a worse fate; his spring had gotten crushed and he was relegated to the trash can. Buzz had tried to save him, but Andy's mom had found Slinky in the back of the closet and carried him out to the curbside trash. The toy box itself had been removed only last month, to be replaced by a stereo system.

Buzz stood in the middle of the room in his classic pose of hands on hips. He spun in a slow circle, trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally he declared, "It's too quiet in here." Andy was over at a friend's house and had left his remaining toys behind. His mom hadn't even asked if Andy wanted to take one along.

The cowboy sighed his agreement. "It hasn't been the same since the younger toys..." Woody let his voice trail off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

An eyebrow raised at Woody's tone. Buzz had noticed a distinct lack of enthusiasm from his old friend lately. He walked over and sat next to Woody, leaning back against the wall where the cowboy had propped himself up. He kicked absently at a sock and scowled. "Andy never used to be this messy. Why doesn't he listen to his mom and clean up?"

Woody raised his head and glared at the space ranger. "You know why."

Buzz waved his hand through the air. "Just because you won't say it doesn't make it..."

Woody interrupted him sharply. "Stop it. Just stop right there, Buzz. Andy marked us, remember?" He lifted his foot and pointed to the fading "Andy" on the bottom of his boot. "We're still his toys, even if he hasn't played with us in awhile."

"Woody, look around," Buzz reasoned. "This room isn't the same anymore."

The walls were covered with rock star posters. Comic books and baseball cards littered the floor, bookshelves, and any flat surface. A baseball bat, glove and ball were propped behind the half-open door. Roller skates peeked out from the closet. A hockey stick poked out from the foot of the bed. CDs filled the shelves instead of toys. The only semblance of used toys were the video games. And they was very poor company.

Buzz started to continue, "Andy's..."

"I said don't say it," Woody snapped. He shoved himself off the floor and stomped off, momentarily forgetting his bad leg. His knee gave out and he fell to the floor with a shout.

Buzz was on his feet in an instant. "Woody! Are you all right?"

"Gol ding it," Woody swore as he picked himself up to a sitting position and straightened his leg. "I'm going to start losing stuffing again. Buzz, pull together a recon mission to get some supplies. I gotta be stitched up."

Buzz put a hand on Woody's shoulder and knelt down by his friend. He was about to remind Woody that there were no other toys to recon for them anymore when he noticed the cloth under his fingers was threadbare. His eyes strayed to Woody's leg, which had been patched before. The patch was loose and stuffing was starting to poke through. How long would it be before Andy noticed? And would he fix it if he did?

A cold chill shot through Buzz Lightyear.

His own joints were showing signs of wear and tear, but his plastic was sturdier than Woody's cloth. Even though Andy usually took good care of his toys, Buzz had gotten a small crack along his front casing and his helmet had broken off years ago. Relatively speaking, he was doing much better than Woody. It was a terrible thing to think and he hung his head in shame. They were both toys, and they were both Andy's. They needed to stick together.

Determined to help the best he could, Buzz put his hands under Woody's arms and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, partner. Let's see about fixing you up." He flung Woody's arm over his shoulders and helped him walk to the desk. He set Woody down on the floor and hopped up to the desktop. He positioned the light at the edge of the desk and clicked it on, highlighting Woody far below him. He rummaged around the desktop until he found a small pin. He couldn't find any thread up there, so he jumped down and picked through the clothes on the floor until he found a loose thread. He snapped it off and tied it around the pin.

"I'm afraid I don't have any more stuffing," Buzz apologized softly as he pulled the edges of Woody's knee together and started to sew.

Woody remained stoic throughout the procedure. Buzz finished and tied the end of the thread in a double knot. It didn't look very pretty, but it should hold.

"Sorry it's not the neatest job in the world," he commented. He tried to joke, "My space ranger training only covered triage," but it got no reaction from his friend. "Woody, aren't you even going to thank me?" he asked quietly.

"Huh?" Woody blinked up at him and seemed to come back to himself for a minute. "Oh, ohohoh yeah, thanks. Much better." He continued to sit there, however, his head down and shoulders slumped.

Buzz frowned. Woody had changed as Andy had changed. He had gotten bitter and sullen and refused to talk about what was happening. They both knew Andy was outgrowing them. Nothing he had tried seemed to snap Woody out of his funk. Finally reaching the breaking point, Buzz reached out and slapped Woody across the face.

Astonishment flushed the cowboy's features. "What'd you do that for?" Woody demanded as he rubbed the red spot on his cheek.

He glared down at Woody. "I'm tired of you feeling sorry for yourself. This isn't like you at all."

"Oh, no? Oh, NO?" Woody demanded as he got in Buzz's face. His arms flailed wildly as he yelled, "Maybe I  _like_ being this way, huh? Ever think of that?"

Shocked, Buzz spluttered, "You can't mean that!"

"Why not? It's not like Andy cares about us anymore. We're  _old_. We're  _used_. He doesn't  _want_ us anymore."

The words hung in the air between them. Woody seemed shocked by his own words. Buzz was shocked that Woody had finally said it out loud.

Woody snapped out of his shock and his arms went flailing again. "There. There, I've said it. Are you happy? Are you proud of yourself? The big, bad space ranger knows all, is that it? Well, space-boy, I hope you're happy." He stomped - or rather, limped - off, leaving Buzz to stare after him.

"Woody?"

The cowboy pulled himself up to the window, keeping his back to Buzz. He propped his head in his hand and stared out the window.

Buzz climbed up after him. "Woody?" he called again as he sat next to his friend.

"You got what you wanted," Woody said softly. "Haven't you done enough? Can't you leave me alone?"

"I didn't want you to deny what was happening anymore, Woody. We both know that Andy's all but forgotten about us. It would have been unhealthy for you to keep that inside," Buzz rattled off.

"You've been watching too many daytime talk shows," Woody grumbled.

"It worked, didn't it?" Buzz proclaimed with a smile.

Woody absently rubbed his cheek. "Yeah, it worked. You hit me a bit too hard, ya know," he chided Buzz, playfully punching him in the arm.

The two friends were silent for several minutes. Woody bowed his head over his clasped hands and Buzz couldn't ignore the deep sigh. "So now what happens?" Woody asked. "Do we stay under the bed and collect dust? Get tossed into the next yard sale?" A shudder rippled through him. "Or worse?" he whispered.

Buzz threw his arm around Woody's shoulders and shook him. "Come on, buddy. You think I'd let anything like that happen to you?"

"Buzz, it's not like we have a choice. The next time Andy or his mom discover us, we're history," Woody lamented sadly.

"His mom doesn't come in here anymore except to find dirty clothes or put away clean ones," Buzz reminded him, then shrugged. "Maybe she thinks all the toys are gone."

"They  _are_ gone," Woody reminded him quietly.

Buzz looked confused, then frowned. "Oh. Right." He perked back up. " _But_..." Woody pushed him away and he stared at the cowboy in confusion.

"Don't try to cheer me up, Buzz," the cowboy asked sadly.

Buzz realized he still had his arm out, and he ordered it to fall to his side. "I just wanted you to quit moping around."

"I'm much better now." Woody gave him a huge, fake smile. "See?"

Buzz shook his head and crossed his arms. "I think you're still in classic denial."

"And I think you've gone looney toons!" Woody shouted. "We are unwanted toys, Buzz. If we're lucky, we  _won't_ end up in the trash like poor Slink!"

"It wasn't his fault he couldn't be repaired," Buzz reminded him.

"Like that matters! He was still  _trash fodder_." Woody suddenly stood up and pushed the window open. "I won't let that happen to me," he muttered.

Buzz took in his friend's stance. Arms still on the sash, wind pulling at his vest, and a determined look on his face. His voice shook as he asked, "Woody, you're not thinking..."

"I'd rather take my chances out there." Woody nodded toward the outside. "Maybe there's a child out there who would like a beaten up doll..." His shoulders sagged and he seemed to fold down upon himself. "Who am I kidding?" he shrugged. "I  _am_ trash fodder." He picked at his threadbare clothes. "Who would want me?"

Buzz studied the forlorn figure. He slowly walked over and put his hand on the cowboy's shoulder. "I would."

Woody's head rose slowly until he stared into Buzz's eyes. "What?"

"I'd want you," Buzz declared softly. He slipped his arm around Woody's thin shoulders and pulled him close. "You're my best friend."

"Is that all I am?" Woody asked in a small voice.

Buzz hugged him closer. "No, Woody."

They watched the sun sink lower in the sky, only moving when they saw Andy return. They slipped under the bed and resumed their poses.

Andy burst into his room and threw his jacket toward the chair. It landed on the floor in a crumpled heap. Andy picked up his baseball mitt and the ball rolled out, under the bed.

Buzz and Woody didn't move.

Andy reached under the bed and retrieved the ball, his hand just brushing Buzz's leg. He gave a tug and Buzz was pulled into the light.

"Hey, my Buzz Lightyear. Hey mom! I found my old Buzz!"

"That's great, honey. The church is having a rummage sale in a few weeks. Maybe you can donate it," she called up to him.

Andy studied Buzz carefully. "Maybe," he muttered to himself. He tossed Buzz back under the bed, picked up the ball and mitt, and bounded back downstairs.

Buzz sat up and stared at Woody. Was this the end?

~~~

The storm was intense. Fierce winds drove the rain harder, pelting Woody where he lay on the edge of the gravel driveway. The dog had dragged him outside and no amount of pleading or yelling had stopped him from using the cloth doll as a chew toy. Finally the dog had tired of him and left him on the driveway, just in time for the sky to open up. Rain pounded his already saturated body, sapping his strength. He pushed himself up just in time to see Andy running through the rain to the car. For the briefest moment, he thought Andy saw him. Then the car door slammed, the engine started, and Woody found himself trying to move out of the way of the car. The tire slipped off the driveway just as it reached Woody, and he was shoved deep into the mud as the car drove over his leg. The seam had pulled apart at the knee, threatening to rip his entire leg off. Thankfully it held, but the weight of the car had pinned him into the mud. He tried to yell, but the intensity of the storm drown out all his attempts.

The rain came down harder with each passing minute, and he feared he would drown. He tried to pull himself out of the mud puddle, but he was soaked and too heavy to do it himself.

"Buzz!" he yelled, only succeeding in choking on the rain. "Buzz," he croaked as his eyes closed. He felt his body become saturated and start to sink.

Strong arms suddenly pulled him out of the puddle.

"Woody!" It was Buzz to the rescue.

Woody started to laughed but choked from all the water. 'Buzz Lightyear to the rescue' was one of Buzz's programmed responses.

"I'm getting you inside, buddy. Hang on."

"Can't," Woody whispered as he dangled helplessly in Buzz's arms.

"Yes, you can. We're almost to the drainpipe."

Buzz tied a rope around his waist and hauled him up to the window. Woody managed to catch the sill and pull himself to safety. He rolled up against the window and tried to catch his breath. He felt Buzz's arms pulling him to his feet and dragging him inside. His teeth started chattering. He felt Buzz pulling his legs straight and wringing the worst of the water out of them. He repeated the gesture on his arms, but his body was still sopping wet.

"I can't do much for the rest of you, so I'll bundle you up and try to keep you warm." Buzz sounded sorry, but Woody didn't understand why. He had saved him. If it weren't for Buzz, he would have been lost outside. He shook his head, but couldn't speak through his chattering teeth. Warmth surrounded him and he huddled closer to it. Buzz rewrapped him several times during the night, and each time he felt drier and warmer.

"Thanks, Buzz," he murmured before he drifted to sleep.

~~~

Woody woke up expecting to feel Buzz's arms around him. When he didn't, he sat up and looked around. Buzz was asleep against the wall, a torn shirt wrapped around him. It had been a dream; a memory from several months ago when the dog had found him under the bed and decided he made a pretty good toy after all. He grimaced and wiped his shirt absently, still expecting to feel dog-drool. His eyes drifted to Buzz, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

He tucked his legs up to his chin and wrapped his arms around them. He rested his chin on his knees, feeling the roughness of the patch. A true smile curved his lips. It felt like ages since he had smiled. He found he still liked the feeling. He liked a few other things he was feeling as well.

"Woody?" Buzz mumbled as he opened his eyes.

"Yeah, Buzz," Woody answered. "It's me."

The space toy sat up. "Everything okay?" he asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"Everything's fine."

"Why are you staring at me, then?" He sat up straighter. "Did Andy come back?"

"No, Andy hasn't come back," Woody assured him. "Not yet, anyway."

"Oh." Buzz busied himself with folding his makeshift blanket.

"When the time comes, I'm going with you," Woody announced suddenly. He stood up and walked over to Buzz. "If we're going to be sold, we're going to be sold together."

Buzz smiled tremulously. "But what if we're not sold together?"

Woody placed his arm in Buzz's hand. "We will be, if you just hang on."

Andy's footsteps sounded in the hallway and the two dolls dropped to the floor. The door burst open and Andy skidded to a stop. His hand groped under the bed and found Buzz's foot. He was dragged out along with Woody.

"Woody," Andy exclaimed softly. He smiled as he looked at his name written on the bottom of their feet. "Aww, I can't sell you guys. I'll just hide you from mom." He dropped them both to the floor and went to rummage in the closet.

"Buzz," Woody hissed.

"Yes?"

"Don't let go," he pleaded.

"Aha!" Andy announced as he held up a box. He picked up Buzz and Woody and put them both in the box.

As the lid closed, Buzz's hand tightened on Woody's arm. "Never."

The End


End file.
